1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to skin care and more particularly is directed toward an improved composition and method for protecting and cleaning skin, especially the hands of persons who work with non-water-soluble materials such as paints, lacquers, inks, pigments, metals, fiberglassed plastic layups, grease, oil, etc., and who otherwise use hazardous materials for cleansing their hands.
2. Background Art
It is well known that people working with any of the afore-mentioned materials have a problem in maintaining clean skin, especially the hands, without adversely affecting the condition of the skin. It very often is impractical, e.g. loss of dexterity or excessive perspiration, for the worker to wear protective gloves. Because of the extreme measures often necessary to effect adequate cleaning after exposure to the aforementioned types of contaminants, the skin may develop a very dry, taut feel which may be followed by skin cracks which then open the way to bleeding, even infection. Even without the latter end result, the dry and cracked skin presents an uncomfortable feel and an unsightly appearance. It becomes increasingly difficult to clean the skin; the soil or contaminant tends to remain in the cracks and crevices which have developed.
In lieu of total avoidance of direct contact with the described types of material, some means for aiding removal of the material has been utilized. Often this has taken the form of first washing the hands in a solvent such as kerosene, mineral spirits, or worse, gasoline or lacquer solvents. The hazards and deleterious effects of such procedures for cleansing are now too well known to need further description. Nevertheless, such dangerous practices continue even today. Two main types of compositions (herein designated as postapplied and preapplied, respectively) which have been used to reduce the described hazards associated with removal of soil or contaminants from the skin are described hereinbelow.
One commonly used postapplied type of composition for removing grease-borne soil, such as from the hands and arms of an automobile mechanic, is a gelled solvent vigorously applied to the soiled skin so as to disperse much of the grease before wiping it off with a cloth or paper towels, or before washing it off with soap and water. These gelled solvents typically are based on mineral spirits or light mineral oil gelled in a soap base comprised of oleic acid reacted with ammonia or an alkanolamine, for example. Sometimes small additions of a better solvent (such as pine oil), fragrances, and emollients are made. Mild abrasives, such as corn meal or pumice powder, may be added to improve soil removal action. Other additives, such as borax, trisodium phosphate or sodium polyphosphate may be used. One current product of this type contains fifteen ingredients and is relatively expensive.
A variant of the first type of cleansing aids is packaged in liquid form. In this variant a suitable solvent is dispersed or emulsified in a liquid soap composition and dispensed as a somewhat creamy lotion for application to the hands. Otherwise the mode of use and the effect are much the same as for the gelled solvent type. These two, representatives of the postapplied type, are not very effective on certain contaminants such as dried inks, paints and lacquers.
A second type is that of a cream or paste preapplied to the hands and rubbed in until the skin is left with an essentially dry, barely perceptible film of solids. This film serves as a barrier to reduce or prevent direct contact of the soil with the skin and as an aid to subsequent removal of the soil. The hands are later washed in the usual manner with water, with or without soap depending on the severity of the soil. The commonly used products representative of this type employ a soap-like base to which emollients may be added. A widely used example of this second type employs a sodium silicate and soap base to which glycerol has been added. It suffers from the distinct drawback of causing most skins to feel abnormally dry and taut. Unlike some members of the type preapplied to the skin, it has the virtue of being less prone to transfer deleterious traces to clean surfaces incidentally contacted by the hands thus coated. This is especially important when such surfaces have been cleaned and are ready for painting or other processing. Other cleansing aids, if used similarly, have been too prone to cause defects known as nonwets or fisheyes in the paint or lacquer coating or in other processing. They also usually have not offered as much aid in the subsequent removal of paint and lacquer from the skin.
The inadequacy of the prior art products to protect skin which is subjected to one or more of the enumerated types of occupational contaminants or soil and often to harsh cleaning procedures has a common consquence, i.e., the need for after-treatment of the skin with creams and lotions to restore softness and suppleness and prevent cracking and soreness. Such a procedure often falls short of the desired effect and also can be a distinct nuisance, especially because of the danger of contacting and recontaminating scrupulously cleaned surfaces. A number of prior art compositions of the two types mentioned are described in the Chemical Formulary by William Bennett, published by Chemical Publishing Company. Some 25 volumes of this work have been published from 1931 to 1983.